TIME Magazine calls Rihanna an icon

TIME Magazine in its special issue presented The Ultimate Ranking of Pop Stardom – a chart based on artists who generate the most hit songs. Rihanna ranked #2 on the chart, right after Mariah Carey, who Rihanna always recognized as her idol and inspiration. TIME posted:

Sure, Miley Cyrus is one of the great media stars of the decade. But when it comes to her status as a hitmaker, she is an upstart compared to icons like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Usher or the legions of greats that came before them.

Rihanna beats legends like Madonna, The Beatles, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. You can see the chart in full here.

2015 will mark Rihanna’s 10th year in the industry and her new album is said to come out soon. She has many years ahead of her and we’re pretty sure the next time the chart is presented, she will be the one on top.

TIME went through every song that reached the top ten of the Billboard 100 back to 1960 to see which artists had both the biggest years and longest careers. We assigned points based on a song’s rank for each week it was in the top ten. Artists who collaborated on songs are both given credit for its success. Artists were chosen for this list based on all-time chart performance and contemporary significance.

Methodology: Data comes from the Billboard archives. Points are awarded by placement in the Top Ten, from ten points for a number-one hit to one point for a number-10 song. All artists listed by name on a track are given full points for its chart performance, but groups with members who later had solo careers are still counted as separate entities. Points for songs are assigned to the year in which the song debuted in the top ten, even if its popularity runs into the next calendar year.